Date & Time:
Jul 3, 1973 at 2030 LT
Type of aircraft:
Sud-Aviation SE-210 Caravelle
Operator:
Registration:
VT-DPO
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
128
YOM:
1963
Country:
India
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
0
Pax on board:
8
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
On final approach to Bombay-Santa Cruz Airport, the airplane adopted a nose down attitude and landed nose first at an excessive speed. Upon impact, the nose gear collapsed and the airplane slid on its nose until it came to a halt on runway. A fire erupted in the nose gear bay. All 15 occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
The copilot was the pilot-in-command at the time of the accident. It was determined that he adopted a wrong approach configuration, causing the aircraft to land nose first at a too high speed. A lack of supervision on part of the captain was also considered.
